[tor-talk] TorBirdy seems to connect to the same exit node again and again

[l.m]

Hi Sophie,

"Sophie Hassfurther"  wrote:
>[...] so far choosing a new
>identity in Tor did not work for me, but restarting the 
>Tor Browser worked. So maybe some circuits did not 
>close?
>
>Just a general question: is it normal to get connected to 
>the same exit node almost all the time, when I start my 
>mail program?

It would be highly unusual to be connected to the same exit if your
mail servers use standard ports. If I'm not mistaken the port you're
using for outgoing mail (25) is currently only allowed in the exit
policy of 3 exits. This hurts your anonymity, and makes the problem
more apparent. You should try to identify an alternative port for your
outgoing mail server as-soon-as-possible. Note that Tor will, by
design, reuse known good exits. So if the other two exits that handle
port 25 are overloaded this may also contribute to the problem.

You mentioned that restarting Tor Browser worked. A new Tor instance
would have a chance to try (and bias towards) one of the other 2 exits
allowing port 25.

Other things, included for completeness, to try include checking for
torrc modifications:

1a. open the Tor Browser install folder
2a. navigate through the folders Browser, TorBrowser, Data, Tor
3a. make sure torrc is empty (default)
4a. make sure torrc-defaults is original with a date of 12/31/1999
(19:00 or 7:00PM)

-and-

1b. close Thunderbird completely
2b. use new identity in Tor Browser
3b. reopen mail. 

If the problem is indeed a persistent connection holding a circuit
open this action should at least force TorBirdy to use a new circuit
(and exit). Note that a/b will be more effective if you *first* deal
with the problem of the port used by your mail server. If you would
prefer to troubleshoot this without adding any software you can also
connect to the Tor process using Telnet to gather information. Please
indicate which operating system do you use.
--leeroy